A Little Help From A Friend
by Lara-Van
Summary: What if Hiro hadn't teleported away at the end of Tabula Rasa? What if he had stayed to be healed? What if he'd seen the sparks between Peter and Emma and decided to give them a little nudge? Peter/Emma, featuring Hiro The Magnificent.


**A Note From Lara:** Alright, so I'm trying to write Pemma as good as that which we've been routinely seeing from VooDoo Lily, but I gotta tell you, I'm just not having much luck! The fics she write totally inspire me, and so here's a holiday-themed one to match Sometimes It Takes A Push To Fall. Luckily, I'm still capable of SOME original thought, so at least this has a Thanksgiving twist, rather than a Christmas one.

* * *

"Hiro!" Peter said as he walked into the time traveler's hospital room, Emma close behind. "I've got it!"

"Got what?" Hiro asked, looking up from a crossword puzzle he hadn't had a lot of luck with.

Peter grinned. "I've got a healing power. I can save you."

Hiro's eyes widened, but he nodded. "Thank you, Peter Petrelli. You are a true hero, and a true friend."

He shook his head. "Nah, I'm just doing what anybody would do. Now... you might want to lie down. It's kind of a weird feeling, having this power used on you. _Believe_ me, I know." Hiro complied, lying back against the pillow with a sigh. Peter placed his hands on the other man's temples and closed his eyes. The faintest of white lights flared around the points of contact, and Hiro gasped, sitting straight up in amazement.

"Did it work?" Emma asked.

Hiro and Peter looked at each other for a moment, then grinned. "It worked," Hiro said, smiling. "I owe you my life, Peter-san."

"Anytime, Hiro. After everything you've done for me..." He shrugged.

"And now I must go," Hiro said, getting out of the hospital bed and looking around for his clothes. "I must continue to right the wrongs!"

Peter considered for a moment, then said, "Hang on a second. You have time now. You don't need to rush off just yet, do you? I mean, you could stick around for a day or so." The Japanese man looked hesitant, so Peter said, "At least let's have a celebratory dinner. On me. The best food you can get in New York for--" He pulled out his wallet and examined the contents, then laughed. "--less than fifty dollars." He smiled ruefully. "Guess it's a good thing payday is tomorrow."

Suddenly, Emma spoke up. "Actually, I know a place," she said. "It's not fancy, but they have great hamburgers."

Peter smiled at her. "Sounds good," he said. Then he suddenly remembered the other person in the room. "What do you think, Hiro?

After pausing to think, Hiro asked, "Do they have waffles?"

Emma laughed. "The best in the city!" she proclaimed. "Perfect for Hiro the Magnificent."

* * *

In the end, Hiro wound up staying for three days in New York, exploring the city he had worked so hard to save, and helping Peter and Emma celebrate his narrow escape. And over the course of those three days, something became very obvious to him.

Peter Petrelli was in love with Emma the Also Magnificent.

Hiro didn't think the empath even realized how much he cared for the blonde woman, let alone how painfully obvious it was to everyone who saw them together. In fact, he was pretty sure the other man was intentionally trying to suppress his feelings. Hiro knew better than anyone how difficult the hero's life could be, and Fate had been more unkind to Peter than any of them. He suspected that Peter was trying to avoid attachments to try to keep from losing anything or anyone else important to him.

But the time-traveler wanted his friend to experience the happiness he had had with Charlie, once upon a time. (Must save her, he reminded himself, after he helped Peter.)

When he had first awakened in the hospital, Hiro had thought he was there to help Peter. Then he had supposed that it was Emma who truly needed his guidance. But now he realized that there was nothing he could do for either that the other wouldn't do better. The only thing he could do for them was to make them see that...

_One Month Later..._

Peter shivered as he walked down the street, the frigid November wind sending early snowflakes whirling down the collar of his coat. It was already growing dark at six p.m. It was Thanksgiving, and with Nathan missing and Angela "visiting friends," Peter really had no plans whatsoever. Looked like he was going to spend another major holiday sitting pathetically in a diner somewhere...

He sighed. It wasn't like he hadn't _tried_. But after everything that had happened, the Petrelli family unit couldn't even _fake_ cohesion anymore. Maybe once they found Nathan, things would get better. But for now, it was Thanksgiving all by himself.

Suddenly, Peter felt a hand descend on his shoulder, and then the familiar jerk of sudden teleportation. When the world resettled, he whirled around to look for his abductor, but there was no one in sight. He turned around, and what he saw before him made him gasp.

* * *

Emma pulled open her freezer, then sighed. Thanksgiving was depressing. Usually her mother would find the time to have dinner with her, but this year she was working a late shift at the hospital, and Emma was on her own. Being too depressed to bother cooking anything, it looked like she was going to have to settle for a microwave TV dinner this year.

As she examined the directions on the package, Emma felt a hand on her shoulder and an unexpected twist as her apartment vanished and a different place entirely took its place.

She spun around, looking for the person who had translocated her, but she was alone. Or... maybe not.

"Peter?" she gasped. "Did you bring me here?"

He looked equally confused to see her. "No. I can't teleport right now, for one thing."

"Where are we?"

Peter glanced at the scene before them. They were in a small room, with one wall made entirely of glass looking out over a city skyline that he couldn't immediately identify. In the middle of the room was a candlelit table set for two, with all the typical accoutrements of a classic Thanksgiving dinner, right down to the cranberry sauce.

"I have absolutely no idea," he said. "But I think I know who brought us here. Looks like Hiro didn't want me spending yet another Thanksgiving alone."

Emma shook her head, but she was smiling. "That sounds like him," she said.

Peter looked at her for a moment, and she could swear that he was blushing. But she could have been wrong. It was hard to tell, with the only light coming from the candles and the streetlights far below. "Well, I suppose we shouldn't waste all his preparation," he said, gesturing to the table. "Shall we?"

They sat down to eat; and spent a few minutes in a comfortable silence. Suddenly, Emma set down her fork with a sigh.

"What is it?" he asked. "Is everything okay?"

She hesitated, then shook her head. "I'm just wondering... why me? It's better than what I had planned, a lot better. But... why would he bring me here? Why not your family, or some of your other friends?" It was a stupid question. Don't question the best thing that's happened to you all week, she cautioned herself. But, masochist that she was, she felt the need to voice it aloud.

Peter bit his lip, looking indecisive and self-conscious. But then a resolution formed in his eyes. Hesitantly, he said, "Maybe it's because Hiro knows me better than I thought."

She didn't reply.

"Emma," he rushed on when she didn't speak, "the fact is, there's no one I'd rather spend Thanksgiving with. I've been trying to deny it for awhile now, but... well..." He was blushing again. "I've fallen pretty hard for you."

Part of her wanted to slam down on the little bud of hope blossoming in her; it was too perfect to be true. But when she met his eyes, there was such a look of tenderness and hopeful adoration there, she couldn't help it. She smiled. "I... me too," she said. "You're amazing, and I..." She fell silent, not knowing how to put how she felt into words.

But it seemed that Peter understood anyway. He came around to the other side of the table and kissed her gently. Then he drew back, a slightly dazed smile on his face and a question in his eyes. She smiled, and that was all the answer he needed to kiss her again. Her arms went around his neck almost of their own accord, and Emma lost track of time for several minutes.

When they came up for air, Peter looked like he was on Cloud 99. "How are we ever going to thank Hiro?" he asked, and they laughed.


End file.
